


Where We Belong

by ThereisNoTragedyinThat



Series: 30 Day OTP Challenge- Cherik Edition [3]
Category: X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: 30 Day OTP Challenge, Boys In Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Don't copy to another site, Fluff, M/M, Protective Erik Lehnsherr, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, X-Men: First Class (2011)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 20:43:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19911925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThereisNoTragedyinThat/pseuds/ThereisNoTragedyinThat
Summary: Rain, shivers, love, and snuggling.Day 3: cuddling for warmth.





	Where We Belong

**Author's Note:**

> Link to the prompt list is in the first story :)
> 
> Day 3: Cuddling for warmth

This had been a mistake.

Erik glared out at the torrential downpour currently keeping them sequestered in the lobby of this apartment building. Beside him, Charles was frowning, hands pushed deep into the pockets of his sweater, already feeling chilled from the damp air. Unforgivable that. Without thinking, he tugged him closer so that their bodies were lined up, but he didn’t dare show anymore affection then that. Too many watching eyes.

Charles sighed, “alright, we’ll have to make a run for it.”

Erik blinked, “shouldn’t we-”

“Do you really want to hang around while he’s here?”

Erik thought of the mutant they’d just tried to recruit who been showing classic symptoms of paranoia, constantly looking around, twitching, and the obvious instability had made even Charles tense up. The man had begun raving before they’d even gotten four words out and had picked up a shot gun. It was easy to subdue both him and the gun between the two of them, but neither were eager for another encounter.

“Fine.”

Charles glanced at him, “it was your idea to leave the car.”

“Better then getting towed,” he retorted.

Charles opened his mouth, no doubt to offer some witty comeback when there was the sudden pounding sound of steps and a familiar irate voice at the top of the stairs. Erik didn’t think, simply wrapped a hand around Charles’s arm and yanked him through the doors and into the downpour.

At first, Erik’s only focus was getting away from the apartment building and to their motel only three blocks away. The rain was frigid, and the brisk wind didn’t help as it sliced at their skin and he couldn’t help but be acutely aware of Charles by his side. He wanted to reach out and grip Charles’s hand as they ran, a foreign urge that he had to physically fight back when he glanced over to find the other man grinning widely.

Charles’s face was slightly upturned, not trying to hide from the rain, instead embracing it, seemingly delighting in it. The gesture was so damn innocent that, after glancing behind to make sure they weren’t be followed, he willingly slowed the pace so Charles could enjoy himself.

That earned a chuckle and hand brushed along Erik’s shoulders, almost teasingly. He didn’t have it in him to snap a protest like he usually would. They were in public, but the streets had emptied of people along with the storm. Risk of being spotted was low, but he wouldn’t dare put them at further disadvantage.

No words were exchanged until they had turned onto the street with their motel and Erik spotted the hard shiver moving through Charles, whose body seemed to finally get the memo that they were in fact wet and cold. In fact, upon closer inspection, Erik realized that Charles was distractingly pale, lips trembling just a bit.

 _Come on_ , Erik urged gently.

_I’m alright._

_I know. We’re nearly there and we can focus on getting warm._

Charles didn’t like when his weaknesses were pointed out, even something so entirely not his fault as this. Erik didn’t mind, he was the same way.

The moment they were in front of their door, Erik unlocked it and flung it open out of pure impatience and ushered Charles ahead of him. Already his lover was stripping, peeling off layers of dripping fabric.

Usually, the sight would have Erik burning with want in a heartbeat. Right now, though, Erik himself was shivering as he quickly removed his own, desperate to force some heat back into his limps. Erik considered the logistics of their tiny shower and how they could both fit, knowing the hot water wouldn’t last for two when Charles was suddenly gripping his hands and tugging him toward the bed.

“Come on. Body warmth and all that,” which was true, but Charles was smirking. His blue eyes had been shadowed by darkening pupils and Erik would laugh if he didn’t know it would only encourage his behaviour.

Still, he relented.

The thick comforter was tugged back, and Erik slipped in first with Charles quickly joining him. Erik couldn’t contain a smile when he immediately pressed close to his side, burying his face in his chest. Chilly toes dug into his shin making him hiss and retaliate with frigid fingers in his lover’s neck.

Charles laughed, the sound shivering around them as he fought back the trembles of rapidly returning body heat.

Erik couldn’t help himself. It was a decidedly impossible feat to deny himself everything that Charles was. So, he didn’t. Erik knew pain and loneliness and loss and so did Charles to a degree, experiences shaping the men they had become. Sometimes, when Erik wasn’t quite in his right mind and his arms were full of Charles and his heart felt warm and alive for the first time in ages, he thought maybe, just maybe, this was all meant for him, an apology for all he’d suffered in life.

But that was fairy tale. Those didn’t exist. Even the Grimm Brothers knew that.

So, Erik leaned down and kissed soft lips, silencing ringing laughs and intelligent eyes once more. It wasn’t quite soft and not quite demanding, lingered in the between of too much and no where near enough. But then, that described them perfectly.

Here, in the privacy of this poor, creaky motel, Erik could drink his fill. Out there, in public and on the streets, he pretended, they both did. But, when they were alone, there were no stares and judgments and accusations, there was only them.

Erik often wondered what strange twist of fate made him both interested in men, Jewish during the worst time in history, and a mutant. It was almost as though he wasn’t meant to survive, to live. Yet here he was. With Charles. No longer alone. Happy.

Once Shaw was dead, he’d finally be able to settle. He and Charles would change the world for everyone because together they were unstoppable. That too sounded like a fairy tale. Erik decided, just this once, to pretend he’d have a happy ending.


End file.
